Falls Church To Get $8.4M From Virginia Tech's Redevelopment Plans

FALLS CHURCH, VA — Virginia Tech’s plans to establish a center for smart construction at its Northern Virginia campus in Falls Church would result in a payment of $8.4 million to the City of Falls Church as part of a real estate transaction, according to city officials.

Plans for the redeveloped property in Falls Church also include a new headquarters office building for HITT Contracting, as well as 400 new apartments, retail, parking and road networks.

Under the plan, Virginia Tech would transfer acreage at the site to the City of Falls Church. The city would then sell the site to real estate investment firm Rushmark Properties at a proposed sale price of $25 million. Two-thirds of that sale price, or $16.6 million, would go to Virginia Tech, and $8.4 million would go to the city.

The purchase and sale agreements are currently being developed and are expected to come before the Falls Church City Council for a vote later this spring. Final approval for the project is expected in 2023.

Virginia Tech's Board of Visitors, at an April 4 meeting, authorized the university to finalize negotiations on the real estate transaction with the City of Falls Church.

“We have a long history in the City of Falls Church and we are excited about this new chapter,” Virginia Tech Executive Vice President and Provost Cyril Clarke said in a statement. “Virginia Tech will help create a world-class smart construction research center — and the community will benefit from a vibrant, mixed-use district that will transform the neighborhood.”

The project also would include the construction of West Falls Church Station Blvd., which would serve as a corridor from Route 7 to the West Falls Church Metro station, where motorists could take a right turn toward Haycock Road or a left turn to the Metro station. The boulevard would go through the city's 10 acres of land, southeast of Meridian High School on the former site of George Mason High School, and the Virginia Tech campus.

Once the city receives the $8.4 million from the real estate transaction, the city would go through a budget and strategic planning process to determine how to use the proceeds, Falls Church City Manager Wyatt Shields said at an April 11 city council meeting.

Along with advancing its academic research goals, Virginia Tech said its plan to establish a center for smart construction in Falls Church with HITT Contracting will clear the way for the City of Falls Church, Fairfax County and developers to move forward with the development of the mixed-use district around the West Falls Church Metro station.

The larger development, which would encompass 40 acres near the West Falls Church metro station, would include a smart mobility research test bed developed by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute.